The Los Angeles Lakers are the ideal place for premium stars. The ethos of the team has been to bring as many stars as possible to their roster. It started even before Jerry Buss took over the franchise. The Lakers had stars like Jerry West and Wilt Chamberlain. Later, in the Buss era, the iconic side saw the rise of the duo of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Erving ‘Magic’ Johnson. The Kareem-Magic duo helped the Lakers become a dynasty in the NBA. Prior to that, the Boston Celtics used to rule the league, winning 11 titles in 13 seasons under the leadership of the legendary Bill Russell.
However, things started to change in the favor of the Lakers in the 1980s. That’s when the LA side became the Showtime Lakers. At present, both the Celtics and Lakers share the same number of NBA titles (17). Moreover, the Lakers saw great players rising to the top, like Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant. Albeit, the Lakers are always open to the idea of bringing in more star players as per their tradition. One such star player who has been on their radar for a while is Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks.
What If Trae Young Joins The Lakers?
As per The Athletic’s Jovan Buha, the Lakers are eager to sign Young depending on how things unfold in the Hawks franchise. Not just that, the LA side is also looking for other options like Damian Lillard, Kyrie Irving, and Kyle Lowry as star guards. Even though the Atlanta Hawks star is not great at defense, he is a really good point guard who scores frequently. Other than not being a good defender, Trae Young is also not very enthusiastic about playing off the ball.
If he teams up with LeBron James, he may as well get used to the fact that he will have to play off the ball frequently. However, a chance may open up if LeBron James wishes for another perimeter player due to the inconsistency of Anthony Davis in crucial games. Albeit, that scenario seems a bit far-fetched. Moreover, the Lakers look pretty balanced after the sensible offseason trades. But if the Atlanta Hawks fail to make Trae Young happy, the Lakers will be available.
Lakers Expecting Mega Game From James-Davis Duo
At present, they are witnessing the great duo of LeBron James and Anthony Davis lead them to success. This duo helped them win the 17th title back in 2020. But everybody knows how much the Lakers like to sign star players in their side. After winning the last title in 2020, they tried bringing in Russell Westbrook to make it a three-star team. However, the James-Davis duo worked at its best when they had proper support from a strong defense in their team.
In the 2019-20 season, the LA side were full of veteran defensive players who helped AD and LeBron James to a great deal. Eventually, they won the title that season. But when Westbrook joined the roster, the team had more star power. However, they failed to win any championship with Russell Westbrook. Later, they traded the Oklahoma City Thunder legend.